Anglo English speakers typically use ‘sorry’ when apologising to someone. However, in Mandarin Chinese, there are three phrases that a speaker might use in situations where an Anglo English speaker would say ‘sorry’: duibuqi (对不起), baoqian (抱歉), and buhaoyisi (不好意思). Google translates duibuqi as ‘sorry’, baoqian as ‘feel sorry’, and buhaoyisi as ‘excuse me’, which is not particularly helpful. As a result, English speakers who want to learn Mandarin may find it difficult to understand these phrases. The objective of this paper is to use Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) to capture the meaning of each of these three phrases in a way that allows Mandarin learners to fully understand their meanings. Examples for analysis are collected from online databases. Our analysis suggests that duibuqi may be considered an apology and is usually used when the addressee is someone hierarchically above the speaker. Baoqian and buhaoyisi are not apologies. The former expresses something akin to regret for not being able to help the addressee, who is usually someone hierarchically below the speaker. Lastly, buhaoyisi is used to acknowledge one’s involvement in causing inconvenience to the addressee without an admission of fault. This study thus has implications for cross-cultural pragmatics and Mandarin teaching.